The joy Teuila obtains from racing me towards an interest that she wants to expose me to is pure delight. The first time we ever met, she rushed me to her home to show off the beach. She wanted to share with me, and partake of that first time sense of wonderment in experiencing something new. Somehow we both knew that the other was someone who would delight in our discoveries for our entire lives. Gods, even just running along beside or behind her, lightly clasping her hand, whatever we’re racing toward, is wonderful all on its own. She turned her head just now to smile and laugh as I nearly stumbled. But her grip on my hand aiding my balance is blissful. She lowers her guard for a moment as she turns her neck in that fashion. Even her impressive reflexes would be caught off guard as she shows me that vulnerable, gleeful side of herself.
I’m not certain why I’m thinking about Teuila’s seeming vulnerability, but it’s true. With each other, we let ourselves be our truest selves. We’re vulnerable, open. The same is true of our entire inner circle. I was about to jokingly think that there are no secrets between us, but Lil’s nickname for Teuila is their “It’s-a-secret,” literally. I’ll always get a kick out of that. Lil dances around lovey dovey language with Teuila, avoiding saying words straight on that will cause Te to blush or clam up.
I hope Lil and Lu are letting themselves enjoy being in love, being out from under the weight of the apocalypse. It’s so freeing to not know there’s some cataclysmic future bearing down on you. I mean, there could be another one awaiting us, but I’m not going to go down that rabbit hole. I hope Luni has some spare clothes for Lil in her extradimensional bag inside her harp. Lil probably can’t walk around whatever city makes up the Hidden Heart as a dragon, not just because of prejudices, but also because they probably wouldn’t fit, their wingspan is pretty massive at this point. But just shapeshifting into a nude humanoid near the town and walking in naked would probably cause the trio trouble as well.
Speaking of naked, how did we already end up in another clothier? This one seems to be of silks and linens. Heavens these fabrics are so delightful to run my fingers across! They’re smooth beyond belief, quite similar to my inner circle’s fur honestly. Further speaking of naked, Teuila’s asking the shop attendant, or owner, if she can try things on, and if I can help her out in private. There’s a curtained area in a corner of the shop, enough room for two, so it’s probably for that express purpose. The person attending the shop points to it and eyes Teuila with a curious interest.
Teuila’s nearly bursting with excitement as she begins dashing about the store, rubbing certain garments on her face to feel their smoothness. I try not to laugh as I don’t want to diminish her joy at all. She’s displaying her joy, and such a range of physical motion that her slight curves each fight for my attention. She holds garment after garment against her torso, bending and stretching to every conceivable angle, determining their comfortability. My eyes drink Teuila in so deeply that I realize they’ve focused only upon her, blurring all else. I almost wish I could capture this moment somehow. Hm, smartphones from fakeworld would be pretty nice about now. Teuila begins to find things that are in her size, and she makes note of the signs about custom fittings, and tailored-to-fit brand new clothing available upon commission.
Te piles several outfits into her arms and drags me behind the curtain. She strips bare as she organizes the clothing into the piles she wants to try on in order. She begins with simple cozy looking linens, they’re almost like a flannel-wear. It looks cozy enough, and I nod approvingly, but Teuila makes a blech face, and strips once more. We go through this process several times, and I’m starting to laugh, fairly certain Te is running a bit on me. She probably knew exactly which one she was going to pick out already, and is saving it for last. Speaking of the last one, as she finishes donning this last two piece outfit, I accidentally let myself whistle a low note of appreciation. Holy smokes it looks amazing on her. It’s a thick, dark silk, and the way the pajama top rides her slight curves is enchanting. She’s grinning in a very “gotcha” manner, smugness almost dripping from her face. I knew it. Wow though, just wow.
Te teases, “Knew I’d find one you liked.” She kisses my nose and I feel flush.
She observes, “Oh look, your ear tips are the color of Lil’s scales. I guess you can’t see that though, huh my dink? Lu told me a while back that putting clothes on is what trips your trigger. Guess she was right. Maybe we’ll find a nice silk tie here for me too, like the one you gave my Spootalu.” Te dances her fingers up my front and flicks me in the nose to accentuate her statement.
I tug at the scarf around my neck, suddenly far too hot inside this shop to be wearing all these layers. My heart Is racing and my face is akin to the surface of Lord Agni at the moment. Lu and Teuila are ganging up on me, and Luni isn’t even here. I need to give her a stern talking to for filling Te in on whatever little teasing thing she found out about the type of fashion and curves I like to see. Or, well, maybe I should thank her for telling Teuila how to tur--. Ack, no! Embarrassing line of thought! Don’t think about that like that!
Teuila grins while nodding. She’s assisting me out of my clothes to help me try on nightclothes. Apparently some of the ones she tried on while running her bit on me were actually intended for me to wear. It figures. I wonder how long she had been waiting for a chance to do something like this.
I feel faint from the embarrassment. My hammering pulse, my flush face, my heavy limbs and droopy eyes all want me to curl up here amidst these clothes. I’m entirely drained of my wakefulness and energy. I’m ready to call it a day and sleep immediately. Something about our time on Rayileklia, I don’t feel like I’ve gotten a real sleep yet at all. Maybe I should ask Teuila if I’ve been sleepwalking or something. I think it’s pretty obvious to Teuila as well that I’m suddenly sapped. She asks about the wealth and I give her a nod. After helping me back into my outdoor clothes she takes the items she truly intended to purchase and heads off to make the transaction. I slump against the rear wall in this curtained corner. Oy vey.
I wonder if. If. Hm. Maybe. Maybe not. This isn’t a panic attack, in fact, I’m pretty darned happy and content right now, just a bit embarrassed and really out of energy. Okay, exceedingly embarrassed. Teuila was here, bare, next to me, and we tried on clothes, and she was sort of right I guess. Those clothes do look killer on her, absolutely stunning. I guess maybe seeing her in them took my breath away. But I still think that there’s something else that’s sapping me. I’m getting flashes, images of a bare torso, and a side swept undercut, I mean, I guess that’s Teuila. Is this hot flashes? I don’t even know what those are.
When Teuila returns, instead of holding our clothing in her arms, she’s holding what must be a purse, or another backpack, likely with our clothes inside. The thing is decorated with what looks to be a massive floof of cotton or wool. It’s reminiscent of clouds, just not the horrid ones on Rayileklia. More the cumulus clouds one would see while sky-gazing on Can’Z’aas if you could make it above the jungle canopy. Teuila waves to the attendant as she ushers me out the store. We take cover in an alleyway for a moment.
Teuila suddenly grills me, “Hey, dink, you felt, like, really, really embarrassed, didn’t you? When I was, well, teasing you, and being kinda sexy.”
I blush furiously as I raise an eyebrow while nodding. Teuila continues, “Well, I, I felt it too.”
I scoff and joke, “Did My Wings get her just desserts, a little bit of a taste of her own medicine?”
Teuila shakes her head, ignoring my jibe, “No, that’s not it, and then, and then after, you felt really tired all of a sudden. I felt that too.”
I furrow my brow at Teuila’s implication. Is she starting to be able to sense my emotions even on Rayileklia? That could be the first step towards re-establishing our psychic bond. Teuila’s eyes glint with joy as she can tell the route my mind is likely taking. I can’t help but to smile in her presence, at her enthusiasm and hope. I’m sure she’s probably also hoping I’ll come up with an idea as to what the next step is, for unlocking our psychic bond on this planet, but I’m fresh out of ideas for the moment.
I flash her a smile, “I think I thought about what you were getting at, and I think we’re on the same page, heh. I don’t have any thoughts about the next step yet though. Plus, I can barely keep my eyes from crossing with how tired I am. I don’t know what’s going on.”
Teuila pouts as she answers, “Awe, my dink, the day is literally just getting started. Let’s go get you a nap or something. Maybe this planet has coffee? Eh, I don’t really want to end up addicted to it. Also, poo.” To her end statement, I raise an eyebrow, and she continues, “That you don’t have plans for the next step. I guess it’s kind of unfair to throw that sort of thing on you all the time. I can figure out some magic things too I suppose. I never told you how I figured out the wind magic stuff, did I? Maybe later.”
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
Teuila virtually hauls me along as she marches us back towards the Keel Over. In nearly no time at all, we’re pushing through the swinging saloon double doors once again. The late night, early morning crowd has dispersed, and apparently it’s about time for Keeley to swap with Marshal. It seems like they each take on twelve hour shifts or so, a pretty tight schedule. I try to creep unnoticed up to our room, but Marshal calls me out, excitedly.
Marshal asks, “I take it you didn’t heed my warning. Well, did you see it? The spook? Everyone says they feel it most around dawn.”
I don’t have the energy, or I’d burst out laughing at the irony. Or maybe that’s just coincidence. Hm, no, I think irony fits. The people don’t even remember Dawn, so they now have a superstition about a spook that lurks at dawn. I absolutely love it. That’s just too hilarious to deal with right now though. Plus, it’s not my place to talk about Dawn. I mean, they gave me permission to talk about them, sort of, if I needed to, but this isn’t a need.
Teuila grins and nods slyly, her answer turning into a joking tease, “Yep, good old spooky spook was watching us near the south side of town, spooooky, ooooo.”
Marshal isn’t sure how serious to take Teuila, and I’m about to laugh it off to hint that she’s being silly, when Keeley confronts us. She shoves Marshal aside and stands angrily before me. I gulp as I look up to meet her gaze. My apprehension must be plain on my face, because she wears a sneer and twirls a cleaver. Just how far on her bad side am I?
Keeley accuses me, “Marshal says ‘e didn’t see you taking your chamber pot out. What’d I tell you last night?” All the while she twirls her cleaver menacingly.
I chuckle with nervousness that turns into a burst of hysterical laughter. It’s entirely disrespectful unintentionally, but I can’t take it. I’m so exhausted, and so anxious and frankly frightened of losing the nice warm bed upstairs. As Keeley looks mildly taken aback, and mostly furious, I try to answer through my cackle, “Hah, hahah, oh heavens, oh no. We don’t. Hahah. We don’t use chamberpots, or ditches, or, or anything. Hahaha. I don’t know how many other differences we have, and how many it will take to prove we really, really aren’t from around here, hehehe, hahaha, hooboy. But, yeah. You’re free to take the entire pot out of our room if you want to inspect it or keep it or whatever.”
I’m sweating furiously as the anxiety piledrives its way home amidst my psyche, and Keeley looks pissed as all hell at my unintentional disrespect. She grips me by the scarf and growls, “Listen ‘ere you little shid. I don’t take kindly to liars, jokesters, storytellers, fibbers, or any other nonsense. I run a tight ship so that everyone gets the same quality service. Get me?”
I can’t take it anymore, she’s free to be upset with me, but I’m not going to be treated like a liar. I begin drawing magic from the staff. I conjure the ghostly translucent copy of my hand that floats about at my command. Keeley releases my scarf as the magic springs to life. I use the floating hand to borrow the key from Teuila. The hand works its way upstairs, bobbing above the steps as Keeley stares after it dumbfounded. After it has unlocked and opened the door, I struggle to have it grip the chamberpot with the lid on, since there’s really no place to hold it. I abandon the lid and let the hand grip the lip of the inside of the top of the pot to bring it down to us.
I snarl, “There, the chamberpot is brought down, sorry I couldn’t get the lid, I’m sending the hand back for it right now. Just, just back off, please.”
I pause for a breath, regretting my anger as I try to recover, “You don’t have to like me, but I promise I’m not trying to lie to you or trick you or, or, or do anything bad. I’m tired, I’m sad. I don’t know how long it will be until, or even if we ever will, see our family again, or even our friends that happened to make the journey with us.”
Keeley starts to interrupt, but I continue, “I just want to help where I can, where we can, while I travel, while we travel. We don’t know how to get home. We don’t know where the owner of the dagger lives, or even her last name. We don’t even know which city the Tavner’s inn is located in where we could possibly find her friend. We’ve got almost no leads, and almost no information about anything on this entire planet, and I just can’t handle the disrespect right now. I’m sorry.”
The fury on her face is obvious, but there’s an inkling of understanding behind it. Teuila grips my bicep defensively. Once again, she’s coiled, ready to strike. I pat her hand tenderly, shaking my head weakly. Keeley’s scowl betrays her gritted teeth as they grind surprisingly loudly against one another. It’s an agonizing sound.
Keeley verbalizes words in a staccato rhythm, halting between each one for a moment, “Got. Any. Other. Surprises? You little shid.”
I frown and cry out in frustration, “How the hell should I even know? It’s not like I’ve sat down and dissected someone from this planet. We’ve only existed for a few days!”
Marshal and Keeley now wear confused, blank stares. Did they really not get it until this point? When we said we came, well, when I said we came from the other side of Noirdivinhoz, what the hell did she think I meant? That I was just some sort of tomb raider that didn’t find anything of interest, so I went to the one town nearby that would be angry with a tomb raider checking out Noirdivinhoz? Just how stupid does she think I am?
I wobble on my feet as the anger keeping me alert slowly recedes. My energy levels plummet further yet, and Teuila is left propping me up as my eyes droop.
Keeley cocks her head to one side and asks of Teuila, “What’s wrong with the little shid?”
Te growls back, “Just tired, we’ve had a rough few days. What with friggin’ dying and all! So, yeah, kindly screw you and your judgmental attitude. Um, please and thank you.”
I snort at Teuila’s mix of mannerisms. I’m sure Keeley probably looks more furious than ever, but also probably a bit confused. I can’t summon up the energy to lift my head to gaze upwards and check the tall woman’s features though. My danger wraps indicate I’m probably pretty close to correct by the sensation of the scowl on her face and mixed raised brows.
There’s an exchange between Marshal and Keeley, “What are they on about?”
“Said somethin’ when they got ‘ere, about arrivin’ from the temple. Talked to ‘Dil supposedly. Caught me off guard with the name drops. Figured they were some punk distant relatives or something, telling tales.”
“Sounds plausible, and now?”
“Now? Now I don’t know what to think. I’m bettin’ they’ll be wanting brekkers despite coming back early morn’.”
Since we’re being simultaneously talked about, and ignored, I can feel it as Teuila and I roll our eyes collectively. After the shared eye roll, we make our way up the stairs. My floating magical hand dissipates after placing the lid on the chamberpot next to Keeley. The nice thing about that spell is that it doesn’t even drain any of the magic from the staff. Or if it does, it’s such a minute amount that it’s instantly refilled from the ambient energy surrounding us that permeates Rayileklia’s very air. It did the same on Can’Z’aas.
Not that it would matter if I used up a few percent of the staff’s power, just a fifth, hm, even a tenth of what it holds is a fairly massive source of destruction. I’m pretty certain I could unleash its larger spells between five to ten times before the staff was drained, likely around seven’ish times. I might be able to even modulate how much power comes out of the staff for each spell, since I’m used to scaling up and toning down spells to some degree.
I had been saving the staff as a last resort in case I couldn’t summon another drop of my own magical potential on Can’Z’aas without dying. Thankfully we made it to the temple of time without reaching that point. Or well, I guess I did technically die during that excursion, hah. Meh, it doesn’t matter I suppose. We’re here, everything’s okay. More or less. I feel like a heel for my outburst towards Keeley. It certainly isn’t going to make matters any better regarding her dislike of me.
Teuila and I make it to our room, strip, and attire ourselves in our sleepwear. Of course, as Teuila’s making herself comfortable, being quicker and all, there’s a knock at the door. I roll my eyes, and make sure to walk very slowly to answer the door. I’m hoping whoever it is just leaves. As I peek out through the door, I’m in luck. Hm, it was apparently Keeley, or maybe Marshal, delivering brekkers as she called it. There are two large, piping hot cornbread muffins, they each have a crater with a small ladleful of baked beans poured atop. There’s a smattering of shredded lamb around the depression at the top of the muffin. I wonder what this is called, it looks delicious.
Teuila does her adorable feral sniffing as she pokes out from beneath the covers. I grin as I bring the food to her. I’m too low on energy to play around and tease her at the moment. Teuila greedily snags one of the muffins and begins tearing into it. Even during the first bite she lets loose a soft moan of pleasure that I blush upon hearing. After the teasing earlier, it’s hard to keep such awkward thoughts from my mind. Still, it has to be amazingly delicious to elicit such a response from Teuila.
I was right, this is amazing. It tastes so good. It’s warm, and filling, the cornmeal makes the bread or batter or body just slightly sweet, and I’d swear there are pockets of butter or margarine that weren’t totally one hundred percent melted as I bite through more of the muffin. Maybe they add little chunks or slices of butter to the muffin tin as they’re pouring in the dough? I occasionally have to wipe a smattering of melted butter from my chin. The lamb is that dry kind that somehow retains every ounce of flavor across the thinnest sheer slice of meat. I’m not sure how I know what any other lamb tastes like, but that’s the kind. Stuff that you’d see used in a gyro. Holy moly. Even if she hates us, this woman or her employees sure can cook. Whether it’s Marshal, Keeley, or someone else entirely doesn’t really matter. Wow. I’d give her a five star review just for the food and nice bedding alone. I’d completely ignore her demeanor, since that part is sort of just a “me-problem”.
I look towards Te as she takes a sip of water to wash down the food. The silken outfit shimmers as it hugs her slight curves through every minor motion. Phew, I restrain my sudden desire to whistle, though I do ogle her for perhaps a moment too long. She grins wickedly at me as she’s crawling back into the covers. I join her after having a drink of my own. The smoothness of her pajama top is absolutely divine where my hands brush against it to rest upon her torso. Teuila and I snuggle under the covers for a midmorning nap, and I’m instantly taken away to dreamland.